NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCSB 880) – A man pleaded guilty for possessing and manufacturing 14 ghost guns in his Upper East Side apartment, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Cory Davis, 42, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in the New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday, the district attorney’s office said. The plea follows Davis’ Nov. 28, 2022 indictment.
On Nov. 7, 2022, Davis sent a picture of his 7-year-old son holding two ghost guns in a family and friends group chat, court documents and statements made in court confirm. This photo concerned a member of the group chat, and the party alerted the NYPD.
Officers found Davis in an UES apartment that he uses as an office and there were two guns and ammunition on the ground, the district attorney’s office said.
This allowed for a court-authorized search warrant on Davis’ apartment where they recovered 12 more firearms, including 10 semi-automatic pistols and two assault weapon style pistols, officials said.
Also confiscated in the police seizure were 400 rounds of ammunition, a high-capacity magazine, nearly two-dozen other magazines and more necessary tools and parts to make ghost guns.
Davis’ online purchasing history showed that he had been buying gun parts and accessories from a variety of websites since June 2020, the district attorney’s office said.
“Today Cory Davis accepted responsibility for manufacturing and possessing firearms. These weapons are extremely dangerous and had the potential to harm our communities had they fallen into the wrong hands,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
Davis will be sentenced to three and a half years in state prison and two and a half years of post-release supervision in accordance with the terms of the plea, officials said. He is expected to be sentenced Feb. 24.
The Ghost Guns initiative was established in 2020 by the district attorney’s office, the NYPD and federal law enforcement. To date the initiative has prosecuted cases that have seized over 104 ghost guns, 90 firearms and hundreds of other firearm modification devices and pieces of gear.
“The proliferation of ghost guns is a serious problem and our prosecutors are thoroughly investigating and bringing forth illegal firearms cases in the interest of public safety,” Bragg said.